Perc - "My Head is Slowly Exploding" (video)

As Sandwell District gets… well, soft is the not the word for it… cleaner, perhaps, a new crop have imported the grit of their Downwards forebears into some neo-industrial atonal labor. One can almost smell the sweat, taste the rest, feel the tetanus coursing through the veins in the work of Perc and proximal ilk like Ancient Methods, Adam X, Tommy Four Seven, and Reeko. The visual filters in the video for Perc’s new single “My Head Is Slowly Exploding” even harken back to the late ‘80s/early ‘90s videos the original industrial pioneers, dragging mysteriously around port containers as an anonymous guy knocks against one, either trying to break in or to just make noise. As noisy as it gets though, the key word here is “slowly” not “exploding”. There’s a palpable tension, but not one that make your head explode in a Scanners-esque friction of resistance.

Our electronic music enthusiasts pick highlights from a year when the genre ranged widely and wildly from ADD dance music to the last great pure dubstep record to an industrial cacophony that's a proper soundtrack to a world in turmoil.